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Benson added to list of cities for recycling
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
After years having to drive to Tucson for recycling, Benson now has the option to recycle at the transfer station thanks a new countywide program.
Marty Haverty, Cochise County director of solid waste, said it's been a tough road to reestablish a recycling program, but they have made it. Benson was recently added to the list of cities joining the program, giving residents the opportunity to recycle newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminum, plastics with one or two labels, tin and electronics.
Haverty said they started a trial run in Benson about a month ago, and have also put the service in at the St. David transfer station. Dragoon has had the service for the last two months.
Haverty said there are five other transfer stations countywide offering recycling, and 10 in rural communities like St. David.
"Residents all over the county have voiced their opinion," Haverty said. "They have asked for it and the Board of Supervisors listened. We've had good participation so far, and I would say the program is going well so far."
Last month, at a solar energy workshop in Benson, Richard Searle of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, District 3, said the recycling program is already making progress.
Searle said they have pulled out more than 382 tons of cardboard, 25 tons of phonebooks, 35 tons of newspapers, 577 tons of scrap metal, 20 tons of auto batteries, 620 tons of used tires and 15 tons of computers and related electronic waste.
In May of last year, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors formed a committee to find ways to make recycling easier for residents. District 3 representatives are Benson resident Kathy Suagee, Dragoon resident Bonnie White and Willcox resident Homer Hansen.
Haverty said they haven't publicized the program, because there is still a lot of work to be done.
They are not fully operational, because right now they must take the recyclable items to Tucson for processing, which has become costly.
Haverty said they are working to negotiate a deal with Huachuca City to use their facilities to sort and process the material. The facility in Huachuca is an older building that was once part of a recycling program.
"Once that part of the program is in place, we will really start pushing the program," Haverty said. "In the meantime, the program is available; residents just need to understand that we are working the bugs out."
Once they can take the products to Huachuca City for processing, Haverty said it would be cost-effective in terms of fuel costs, and to bale and market the recycled items locally.
The last time Benson had any kind of recycling service was in 2003. After 36 years of providing a recycling service to Cochise County, Sierra Huachuca ARC (SHARC) closed its doors June 13, 2003.
At the time, SHARC officials said budget problems forced them to close the program.
The Benson City Council researched the possibility of starting its own recycling program, but after being told it would cost more than $20,000 to purchase the needed equipment, the idea was passed on.
However, the city has tried to help the county's efforts. City Manager Glenn Nichols said they donated old trash bins to help make the process easier.
"I think this is a great program," Nichols said. "I think it's a positive thing to have in every community, and we need to be as involved as we can."
Taking the focus to preserve the environment a step further, Searle said the county continues to look at cost-saving measures.
"I want to address some of the actions and programs the county has been involved in with energy efficiency," Searle said. "Five years ago the county did an energy audit and it was determined that if we changed out our lighting fixtures, we would save. We took a very proactive stance on this and we changed out all of our older fixtures. The savings in one year are 627,317 kilowatt hours, which equates to $78,000 a year just for changing out the fixtures."
The county's annual light bill is more than $700,000.
Searle said the county has also changed out water fixtures at the Cochise County jail facility in Bisbee, and is now saving more than a million gallons of water a year.
Searle said by taking these measures, the county is saving water, electricity and taxpayer dollars by making use of the natural resources Arizona has available.
After years having to drive to Tucson for recycling, Benson now has the option to recycle at the transfer station thanks a new countywide program.
Marty Haverty, Cochise County director of solid waste, said it's been a tough road to reestablish a recycling program, but they have made it. Benson was recently added to the list of cities joining the program, giving residents the opportunity to recycle newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminum, plastics with one or two labels, tin and electronics.
Haverty said they started a trial run in Benson about a month ago, and have also put the service in at the St. David transfer station. Dragoon has had the service for the last two months.
Haverty said there are five other transfer stations countywide offering recycling, and 10 in rural communities like St. David.
"Residents all over the county have voiced their opinion," Haverty said. "They have asked for it and the Board of Supervisors listened. We've had good participation so far, and I would say the program is going well so far."
Last month, at a solar energy workshop in Benson, Richard Searle of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, District 3, said the recycling program is already making progress.
Searle said they have pulled out more than 382 tons of cardboard, 25 tons of phonebooks, 35 tons of newspapers, 577 tons of scrap metal, 20 tons of auto batteries, 620 tons of used tires and 15 tons of computers and related electronic waste.
In May of last year, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors formed a committee to find ways to make recycling easier for residents. District 3 representatives are Benson resident Kathy Suagee, Dragoon resident Bonnie White and Willcox resident Homer Hansen.
Haverty said they haven't publicized the program, because there is still a lot of work to be done.
They are not fully operational, because right now they must take the recyclable items to Tucson for processing, which has become costly.
Haverty said they are working to negotiate a deal with Huachuca City to use their facilities to sort and process the material. The facility in Huachuca is an older building that was once part of a recycling program.
"Once that part of the program is in place, we will really start pushing the program," Haverty said. "In the meantime, the program is available; residents just need to understand that we are working the bugs out."
Once they can take the products to Huachuca City for processing, Haverty said it would be cost-effective in terms of fuel costs, and to bale and market the recycled items locally.
The last time Benson had any kind of recycling service was in 2003. After 36 years of providing a recycling service to Cochise County, Sierra Huachuca ARC (SHARC) closed its doors June 13, 2003.
At the time, SHARC officials said budget problems forced them to close the program.
The Benson City Council researched the possibility of starting its own recycling program, but after being told it would cost more than $20,000 to purchase the needed equipment, the idea was passed on.
However, the city has tried to help the county's efforts. City Manager Glenn Nichols said they donated old trash bins to help make the process easier.
"I think this is a great program," Nichols said. "I think it's a positive thing to have in every community, and we need to be as involved as we can."
Taking the focus to preserve the environment a step further, Searle said the county continues to look at cost-saving measures.
"I want to address some of the actions and programs the county has been involved in with energy efficiency," Searle said. "Five years ago the county did an energy audit and it was determined that if we changed out our lighting fixtures, we would save. We took a very proactive stance on this and we changed out all of our older fixtures. The savings in one year are 627,317 kilowatt hours, which equates to $78,000 a year just for changing out the fixtures."
The county's annual light bill is more than $700,000.
Searle said the county has also changed out water fixtures at the Cochise County jail facility in Bisbee, and is now saving more than a million gallons of water a year.
Searle said by taking these measures, the county is saving water, electricity and taxpayer dollars by making use of the natural resources Arizona has available.
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